1. Technical Field
The invention relates to the field of double locking snap hook designs and provides an anchoring device for retaining safety harnesses, load supports, lanyards and the like.
2. Background Information
The double locking snap hook generally consists of a hook portion and an eye to which a rope may be secured. The hook portion includes a latch which is spring loaded, biasing the latch into a closed, latched position. Further, a locking means, also spring loaded, is provided to help prevent the latch from inadvertently becoming opened, thus maximizing the safety factor of the hook. In recent years, several new designs for double locking snap hooks have been introduced. The safety and effectiveness of any snap hook of this variety is directly related to the ease of use and simplicity of operation of the snap hook. Unfortunately, many of these designs are either clumsy to use or too easily unlocked and unlatched. Similarly, some of these designs are not adequately durable, and components of the locking mechanism sometimes break or wear off, rendering the snap hook useless.
Among the more relevant prior art patents are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,434,536 issued to Schmidt et al. on Mar. 6, 1984, 4,528,728 issued to Schmidt et al. on July 16, 1985, 4,528,729 issued to Schmidt et al. on July 16, 1985, and 4,539,732 issued to Wolner on Sept. 10, 1985. In their commercial embodiments, the locking snap hooks made according to the '536 reference and relevant embodiments of the '728 reference are difficult to use because the locking member is difficult to access, especially by a worker wearing gloves. The safety snap of the '732 reference, while effective and simple to use, is relatively complicated in design, and requires the use of several parts, increasing the likelihood of the hook becoming broken or otherwise disabled due to dirty conditions or heavy wear.
The present invention is directed to solving these problems and provides a workable and economical solution to them.